REGISTRY UPDATE: Sales continue to improve, foreclosures hit new low

Thursday

Nov 16, 2017 at 3:00 PM

Real estate activity typically begins to slow down this time of year. This year the sales numbers for October almost matched the sales numbers in September. The Registry of Deeds recorded 985 deeds in October, only 15 fewer than the 1,000 deeds recorded in September.

Through the first ten months of the year, the Plymouth County Registry recorded 9,230 deeds, compared to 8,911 deeds recorded during the same period in 2016. “A solid four percent increase in sales volume attests to the continued stability of the market,” said Register John Buckley Jr. in a press release.

The mortgage numbers were actually slightly higher than September. The Registry recorded 1,989 mortgages in October, compared to 1,894 in September.

However the mortgage activity this year is less than last year. Plymouth County has recorded 10% fewer mortgages this year compared to last year at this time. "We recorded 17,693 mortgages this year compared to 19,647 mortgages recorded by this time last year," Buckley said. "Given that sales are slightly ahead of last year, it is likely that the decrease in mortgages represents fewer refinances. Hopefully last month’s modest increase in recordings is a positive sign."

Foreclosure activity in Plymouth County continues to be a source of good news. October had the fewest foreclosures in any single month in over two years with just 38 foreclosures recorded in the county. Plymouth County recorded a total of 554 foreclosure deeds through October of 2017, compared to 621 through October, 2016, representing an 11 percent decline.

The number of notices initiating new foreclosures is also lower than what Plymouth County recorded in 2016. Through the first 10 months of 2017, the Registry recorded 746 foreclosure notices, down 36 percent from the 1,174 notices recorded during the same period in 2016.

As part of our ongoing effort to share with the public some of America’s most significant documents, on Thursday, Nov. 30, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Registry will display the original Plymouth Colony record of one of the earliest maritime lawsuits. Back on Jan. 2, 1637, a jury decided a dispute between Michaell Turner and John Davis. Turner had sued Davis for “not deliuering his goods he hyred his [Davis’] boate to carry from Weymouth to Sandwich. The jury found for the defendant … because the complt [Turner] should haue set vp a pole wth a white cloth on the top, whereby the harboures mouth might be discouered vnto them.” The record of this court proceeding can be found at Judicial Acts, page 4. The Plymouth Colony Records, Storage and Reading Room is located on the second floor of the Plymouth County Registry building at 50 Obery Street, Plymouth. Call Lorna Green-Baker at (508) 830-9290 for further information.

REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY THROUGH OCTOBER 2017

COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD IN 2016

All figures are based on sales or mortgages between $25,000.00 and $3,000,000.

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